2012 What a year it's been

   

     Wow, what a year it has been.  On Tuesday January 1, 2013, will mark the 1st anniversary that I started this blog.  My thought at the time were that I was going to be give you the peak into the publishing process I was going through and all the trials and tribulations that went with it. When I signed with my contract with my first publisher, I was told that I would not see my book published until the Summer of 2013.  Along the way, I learned a very important lesson, that sometimes self-publishing agency's will take advantage of you. Thanks to very good friends of mine, I was able to get out of that contract and found a wonderful editor who took me under her wing and now...I have my book published.  Okay down side, the original book, "Summer Rain" had to be broken down into two books, and the name had to be changed, upside...I have two published books, lol.  As you can see, book 2 has a cover!!!!!!  Look for its release January 1st, and of coarse I will be making the big announcement that day.  I am also having a Release/New Years eve party to celebrate.

     A lot has happened this year. I have grown as a writer, as a mom, and as a friend.  I was blessed to have people come into my life this year some new and some old.  A very dear friend came back into my life and I never realized before just how much I missed this persons friendship until we found each other again.  I found out who my true friends were, and how blessed I am to have them by my side.  They have all been a big part of me getting to where I am now and where I will be in the future.

     Also this year, I a part of my life was given back to her parents.  Gabbie went home, and truth be told, I miss that little girl every day.  I marked a year that her sister Chloe, who's memory lives on in these two book, passed away and went to be with my brother Robb.  I watched my oldest take make her next steps into her life by starting High School and my youngest start Kindergarten.

     I started the fight for causes that are dear to my heart and will do it in memory of Chloe so that no one will have to go through what I have.

     So what does 2013 hold for me.....That I'm not really sure about yet.  I know in April my next book will be published.  I hope to have the next book in the Fallen Angels series out this year too.  I hope to do some book signings too.  I know of hopefully 2 that I have planned so far and will keep you up to date as to when and where.

     In closing, I wish all of you who have found my little blog, a  Happy and Healthy New Year.  Thanks for stopping by and reading.  I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Peace, Love, & Happiness ~JC

Christmas Message

     Tis the season....I was going to post from one of my stories but instead I thought I would post my Christmas Wish for you.  Next week's post will be a look back at this past year, shocking I know, no one does that.  But this week is about the Holidays and family.  In the past two weeks we have all heard of the tragic shooting in CT and also this week the dreaded Mayan apocalyptic.
     I will be the first to say that I did send out text to close friends just in case Friday was it.  But I also didn't live my last day in fear either.  Instead, I was at my little ones Christmas show.  Like most of us at 9:30 we had our moment of silence. I felt almost guilty in away because while 27 families (yes I said 27, his mother was a victim too) were laying their children to rest and I was watching mine sing Christmas songs.
     A lot of us get caught up in the Christmas rush, trying to find that perfect gift, or wrapping that said gift.  We forget what this season is really about.  I did something this year, that I hope to continue in years to come.  I had a chance to give back, and to me, knowing that another family could have Christmas was one of the most wonderful feelings around.  It is something I want to instill in my children.  When I first met my husband we use to do things just like this.  But as the years have gone on, he seemed to forget about all we use to do.  People have developed a "Me attitude"   The phrase "No one helped me so why should I help someone else." seems to be something I hear a lot.  The truth, so what.  Don't help someone because someone helped or didn't help you, do it because you can and leave happy because you made a difference in someone's life.  Because that person you helped may do that for someone else when they are in a better place.
     I am blessed this year to be in a better place then I was a few years ago.  I am blessed to have my family with me and the support they have given me.  I am also blessed to have awesome friends.  My wish for you, take a minute and be thankful for what you have, if you can help someone who needs it and don't expect anything in return, and enjoy your holiday with the ones you love.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas~JC
   

Sunday Post "After Angels Fall~Camping fun"

It was a twenty-minute ride to the island and another twenty-minutes to the site they always stayed in.

“Fire pit is still here,” Nick said, putting down the first load of stuff and stretching out.

“Yeah, and Uncle Robb had the wood dropped off, so there is a plus. We’ll finish bringing the stuff in if you girls can clean up the area and figure out where we are going to set up,” Mark suggested.

“Wait, where’s the bathroom?” Gabbie asked, looking around. She had not stopped complaining since they go there.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Right here,” he said and then took a gulp of water.

“And the shower?” she continued.

Kevin came over and put his arm around her, then pointed at the lake. “See that big puddle of water over there, that’s the lake and your shower for the next seven days.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” She looked at Chloe.

“Come on, Gab, it’s an adventure. Have fun with it.” Chloe laughed as she shook her.

Gabbie gave her an evil eye. “I am so going to kill you for talking me into this.”

Mark put down the cooler and looked at her. “Gabbie, chill, we just got here. Let’s get things set up and it will look a lot better.”

“Ahh, look what I found.” Kevin picked up a gardener snake.

Chloe jumped on Nick’s back and Gabbie screamed.

“That’s it, take me back!” she yelled.

Kevin walked towards her and held it out to her. “It’s harmless.”

“I mean it. I hate snakes!” she cried, running behind Chloe and Nick.

Kevin laughed at that. As he went back to the boat, he yelled, “We are so pretend broken up. See? I told you two this was a bad idea!”

“That doesn't happen much. He actually found it when we got off the boat and brought it here,” Nick said to Chloe.

She laughed it off. “It’s fine. They just freak me out a little.”

He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her. “Don’t worry, I will protect you from the big bad snakes.”

“Yeah, protect her from the snakes later. Come on. We got a lot to bring in.” Mark hit his shoulder and started back to the boat.

Three hours later, the camp was set up and the tents were up. Kevin and Nick went to put their stuff in; Mark threw it right back out.

“What gives?” Kevin asked, getting ready to throw the stuff back in.

“You two are over in the other tent. Claire and I are here,” Mark explained.

Nick looked at Kevin and then back at Mark. “Why is that?”

Mark put his hands on his hips and smirked. “Because I’m older and I said so. Hey, I’m letting you sleep with your girlfriend. You should be happy.”

“How is it I’m sleeping with my girlfriend when there are two other people in the tent?” Nick pointed out.

“That’s not my problem. Now go!” Mark pointed and went back inside with Claire.

Kevin looked at Nick. “We just got thrown out of our tent.”

Nick put his arm around Kevin’s shoulders. “Yeah, and you just broke up with your pretend girlfriend, who we now have to share a tent with. Good luck with that one.”

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/-mrgt-/6223972782/">-MRGT</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Sunday Post "After Angels Fall"

Chloe sat in her room and watched out the window. She was beginning to like the dark now; she could hide the tears from Shelly better this way. She wanted out of this room and out of this life. It was so hard to say good-bye to him today. All she wanted to do was to go with him and run away from it all. For a moment in his arms, she felt safe. Safe from the darkness that haunted her. She heard the lock on the outside of the door unlock. Shelly staggered into the room and fumbled for the light.

“How was your little taste of freedom today?” she hissed at her.

Chloe swallowed hard. “Thank you so much for letting me go out. I’m grateful.”

“You should be. See? If you keep being a good girl and do what I ask, then everything will be fine. I know you miss him. I can make it so you can see him again,” she said as she played with Chloe’s hair.

“How is that?” Chloe was almost afraid to ask.

Shelly laughed at that. She touched Chloe’s cheek and ran her hand down her smooth skin.







photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/4046234527/">Pink Sherbet Photography</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

"After Angels Fall"

Authors Note: This is for the soon to be released Book 2 of the Fallen Angels Series: "After Angel's Fall" Due Christmas 2012.  For the next few weeks I will be posting from that book to give you a sneak peak into what happen after Nick and Chloe fell from grace. 

 Nick waited until he was in the car to look at them. She was breathtaking. Her body was covered in a white cloth except for her stomach, which was exposed as she held it. She wasn’t very big, still just a little bump, but you could tell she was pregnant. Roger had her looking down at her stomach in one shot, and in another, her face was aglow as she laughed. He had taken a few different poses, but the one he loved the most was of Chloe sleeping with her hand on her stomach. He couldn’t tell if she really was or if Roger had her pose that way, but whatever the situation, she was so serene.

Nick handed them to Kevin, who smiled. “She has gotten bigger since the last time I saw her. So what now?”

Nick stared out the window, hoping that maybe she would just show up. “I don’t know. I keep hitting dead ends. I thought that at least if she didn’t get her check yet, I still had a chance to find her.”

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicopierce/5436994566/">nicole.pierce.photography ♥</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>